Hays Street bridge case a win for the public

Antonia Castañeda and Gary W. Houston, For the Express-News

Updated 4:23 pm, Friday, July 25, 2014

Photo: Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News

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A jury recently upheld the Hays Street Bridge Restoration Group's breach of contract claim against the city of San Antonio. The jury found that the group did have a contract with the city to raise funds for a restoration project. less

A jury recently upheld the Hays Street Bridge Restoration Group's breach of contract claim against the city of San Antonio. The jury found that the group did have a contract with the city to raise funds for a ... more

Photo: Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News

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Antonia Castañeda is a member of the Westside Preservation Alliance.

Antonia Castañeda is a member of the Westside Preservation Alliance.

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Gary W. Houston is a member of the Hays Street Bridge Restoration Group.

Gary W. Houston is a member of the Hays Street Bridge Restoration Group.

On July 11, the jury found that the group did have a contract with the city to raise funds for the restoration project, including the land at 803 N. Cherry, which the group solicited to develop into a park as the final phase of the Hays St. Bridge project. According to the terms of this contract, the city was to apply all funds raised to the restoration project. The jury ruled that, in attempting to transfer the land to Alamo Beer Company, the city violated its contractual obligations to the Restoration Group.

The significance of this decision is poorly understood and easily distorted. For instance, this newspaper's July 12 coverage of the verdict stresses the jury's finding that the city never “claimed, held, or used” the disputed land as a park, meaning the land transfer to Alamo Beer did not require a public election as urged by the Restoration Group. Yet this was only one of eight questions deliberated upon by the jury, who ruled in the Restoration Group's favor on the other seven, with the most important — the city's breach of contract—upheld. This finding allows the court to order the city to perform the contract as written, committing the land to the original Hays Street Bridge restoration plan.

Four implications of this finding are particularly vital, not only for the restoration group, but for all San Antonio residents:

The city had an obligation to do what it said it would do, despite turnover in City Council and staff, and despite shifting economic priorities due to the kind of economic development promoted in the Decade of Downtown. The development of a park at that location had for years been part of a neighborhood and city master plan for that land. The city of San Antonio endorsed the concept of a park, including seeking federal support for park development, until 2011 when it violated the trust and good faith of the restoration group by voting to transfer the land to Alamo Beer.

Land acquired for a public purpose should remain in public hands and be used for a public purpose.

Historic landmarks should be visible, with adjacent open space. The land at 803 N. Cherry is the last undeveloped adjacent parcel, and provides the last unobstructed view of the bridge span. If commercial structures were to be placed on the land, the bridge and its distinctive trusses would no longer be clearly visible from surrounding streets.

Public process should be democratic, fair and transparent, free from the political influence of well-connected profiteers and their lobbyists.

The jury's verdict represents a significant victory for the protection of public spaces, the preservation of historic landmarks, and the shielding of the democratic process from the influence of private interests. Moving forward from the trial, the restoration group remains eager to work with the city of San Antonio to determine plans for how the “community public space” and “recreational uses,” descriptive terms used by the city at the time the land donation was accepted, can be best protected and implemented.

Antonia Castañeda is a member of the Westside Preservation Alliance. Gary W. Houston is a member of the Hays Street Bridge Restoration Group.